Woman allegedly tries to backtrack after admitting to murder
Share this @internewscast.com

Inset: Katelynn Kearney (Lebanon County District Attorney”s Office). Background: The apartment complex in Lebanon, Pa., where Kearney is accused of killing her boyfriend (Google Maps).

A Pennsylvania woman is behind bars over a series of allegations related to the stabbing death of her boyfriend, authorities say.

On Monday, Katelynn Kearney, 32, and her mother, Joanne Kearney, 61, faced charges of tampering with evidence, as announced by the Lebanon County District Attorney’s Office.

Those initial charges came roughly within a day of law enforcement discovering the deceased body of Dontay Maurice Hunter, 45.

The victim was discovered late Sunday morning, with a significant amount of blood on his right side, lying in his bed at the Chestnut Street apartment he formerly shared with Katelynn Kearney in Lebanon City.

According to a press release from the prosecutor’s office, Katelynn Kearney called 911 on the incident day, reporting she found her boyfriend unresponsive in the bloodied apartment.

That call, however, soon became suspect.

“Her voice remained flat, and she displayed no emotion,” Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf stated in the press release. “At times her speech was incoherent. The Defendant never confessed to stabbing the victim or causing his death.”

The first suite of charges seemed to be something of a prelude.

Surveillance footage from Oct. 4 reportedly shows Hunter and his girlfriend entering their apartment together at around 8 p.m., authorities claim in court documents about the tampering charges, accessed by Lancaster-based NBC affiliate WGAL. Shortly after, a woman’s voice is heard yelling: “Get off of me.”

Later, Katelynn Kearney is seen leaving Hunter’s apartment and going to her mother’s apartment next door, police claim. Then, the mother follows the daughter, stands in the doorway and allegedly says: “He’s dead.” The footage then shows the pair entering Hunter’s unit together, police said. At around 9:40 p.m., Katelynn Kearney is seen leaving her apartment carrying a white plastic bag before returning without the bag some 10 minutes later, according to law enforcement.

The girlfriend called 911 at around 9:38 a.m. the next morning.

Responding officers indeed found blood all over the place — on the doorknobs to the apartment and in the hallway between the two residences, according to those first-filed court documents.

Investigators would quickly discover the discarded bag and bloody knife in a nearby dumpster, along with blood-covered clothes Katelynn Kearney had been wearing the night of the stabbing, police say.

Now, after a few days of an ongoing homicide investigation, the ante has been substantially upped against the younger woman.

Joanne Kearney appears in a booking photo.

Joanne Kearney (Lebanon County District Attorney’s Office).

Katelynn Kearney made several statements to police denying responsibility for the crime, according to the prosecutor’s office.

“She told police on the night of the murder she and the victim only argued,” the press release reads. “She reiterated that she went to her mother’s apartment and found the victim dead on his bed the following morning.”

The first version of the story quickly fell apart, Hess Graf says.

“In her first statement to police, the Defendant lied,” the press release continues. “She told police she found the victim in his apartment, he was not breathing, and she called 911. The Defendant’s mother reiterated the Defendant’s lies in her initial statement to police.”

At one point, Katelynn Kearney even blamed another man who lives at the same apartment complex, with whom she “had romantic relations,” for Hunter’s killing, Hess Graf says.

The alleged lies continued throughout subsequent interviews, authorities say, even in the face of being shown the surveillance footage. Then, after over an hour of being questioned at the police station, the alleged killer is believed to have changed her tune.

Eventually, Katelynn Kearney admitted to swiping Hunter twice with a knife during an argument, police and prosecutors say.

“After all of her lies to police, the Defendant admitted she stabbed the victim but then attempted to claim self-defense,” the press release goes on. “A search of the Defendant’s person revealed no injuries. The Defendant did not request medical care.”

Then the story allegedly changed again.

After being read her Miranda rights and brought back to the cleaned-up apartment to perform a reenactment of the slaying, Katelynn Kearney allegedly claimed she “found” Hunter stabbed in the apartment, authorities say.

“Police reminded the Defendant she already confessed and asked her to reenact the killing,” the press release continues.

During the subsequent demonstration, the alleged killer said Hunter “never held or showed her a weapon” but did grab for her arms while she was holding the knife.

“She continued to make stabbing motions with the knife,” the write-up of the reenactment session reads. “The victim fell onto his bed and told the Defendant she stabbed him. The Defendant saw the victim start to bleed. At no point did the Defendant render aid or phone 911 for help. The Defendant believed she stabbed the victim twice. She further stated she accidentally stabbed the victim due to her tremors.”

Katelynn Kearney also told investigators that her dating history with Hunter included instances of “physical abuse,” according to the prosecutor’s office. A search of law enforcement records, however, only turned up a lone battery conviction against the defendant herself in Florida from 2013.

The prosecutor’s office offered an ironic coda to its estimation of the fatal stabbing in the lengthy press release.

“October of every year is Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” the press release concludes. “On the date of the murder, local citizens gathered at an event in support of Lebanon County’s Domestic Violence Intervention. The message conveyed domestic violence could happen at any time and to anyone. Mere hours later, the Defendant committed a domestic violence homicide.”

On Thursday, Katelynn Kearney was charged with criminal homicide.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Mother’s Partner Provides Multiple Accounts for Child’s Injuries, Including Alleged Hot Comb Incident: Police Report

Background: Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. (Google Maps). Inset: Deniqua…

Judge Cannon’s Directive Prevents Jack Smith from Reviewing His Own Trump Report Prior to Deposition, Transcript Indicates

Left: Judge Aileen Cannon (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of…

Shocking Incident: Man Accused of Strangulation Allegedly Throws Infant in Apartment Hallway

Share A Wisconsin man, already entangled in legal trouble due to a…

Tragic DUI Crash: Intoxicated Mother Drives Wrong Way, Resulting in Fatal Collision and Loss of Her Son

Background: The scene of the crash at North Fessenden Street and North…

Shocking Ohio Case: Mother Allegedly Suffocates Toddler with Plastic Bag

A tragic incident in Ohio has led to a mother facing murder…

Two Arrested Following Gunfire Incident at Local Mobile Home Park

Staff Report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – An early morning disturbance at Oak Park…

Indiana Police Officer Faces Charges for Alleged Domestic Battery Against Pregnant Family Member

In a concerning development, an Indiana police officer found himself on the…

Exposed: Hospital’s Profit-Driven Scheme Involving Unwarranted Surgeries on 500+ Women

Inset: Javaid Perwaiz (Western Tidewater Regional Jail). Background: Chesapeake Regional Medical Center…

Authorities Reveal 10-Year-Old’s Desperate Plea for Help Months Before Tragic Death Allegedly Attributed to Father and Girlfriend

Left inset: Richard Baptiste (Apache County). Center inset: Rebekah Baptiste (GoFundMe). Right…

Babysitter Claims Headache Led to Tragic Incident Involving Infant

An Arkansas woman faces capital murder charges following the tragic death of…

Revealing Epstein Files Released: Brother and Survivor Break Silence

The ongoing battle for transparency surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s case has intensified as…

Mother Sentenced in Tragic Case of Fatal Head Trauma to 14-Week-Old Son: Justice Served but Questions Remain

Background: News footage of Lily Scheip during her sentencing on Dec. 29…